Full analytical solution of adapted polarisation state contrast imaging

We have earlier proposed a 2-channel imaging technique: Adapted Polarisation State Contrast Imaging (APSCI), which noticeably enhances the polarimetric contrast between an object and its background using fully polarised incident state adapted to the scene, such that the polarimetric responses of those regions are located as far as possible on the Poincare sphere. We address here the full analytical and graphical analysis of the ensemble of solutions of specific incident states, by introducing 3-Distance Eigen Space and explain the underlying physical structure of APSCI and the effect of noise over the measurements. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America